'My Confession' Campaign Aims to Reverse Christianity's Bad Image
A group that seeks to reverse the bad image of Christianity in America launched a new campaign Tuesday that encourages Christians to publicly confess their shortcomings by leaving notes in public places and reporting them on a website.
The My Confession campaign, organized by Changing the Face of Christianity, Inc., hopes to get Christians to acknowledge problems such as hidden hypocrisy, intolerance and homophobia – failings that give the faith a bad name.
"We are trying to help Christians actually change for the better. This begins by acknowledging we have a problem through heartfelt confession," explained R. Brad White, founder of Changing the Face of Christianity.
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White is a former atheist who is now a devout Christian. He says his mission in life is to help reverse Christian intolerance and restore the true message of Jesus Christ among those who carry his name.
The CFC founder shared his confession about being a "homophobic Christian."
"My confession is I've allowed my religious convictions to make me numb to the human rights of gays and lesbians," confessed White. "I haven't consciously fought against gay marriage, but I've allowed outspoken Christian political activists to limit the human rights of LGBTs and let them speak for me through my silence,"
"My confession is I've been a homophobic Christian. The gay community deserves love, not discrimination," he said.
White anticipates other Christians will make confessions about a judgmental attitude, secretly hating someone, or not reading the Bible or going to church.
The My Confession campaign is similar to a project called PostSecret, which collects anonymous postcards confessing suicide attempts, incidents of rape or incest, awkward habits and old hates. The 4-by-6-inch postcards are generally very creative and made out of various materials such as book covers, cereal boxes, and paintings. The postcards are mailed directly to founder Frank Warren's Germantown, Md. address.
Warren, a former volunteer on a suicide prevention hotline, founded the project in 2005 to give people an outlet. The project has since led to four books and a travelling art exhibit.
White's Christian confession project asks participants to put their notes in a public area such as on a public restroom mirror, bank ATM, or gas station pump instead of sending them to him. Once the secret confession has been posted publicly, White encourages participants to take a picture and post it to the My Confession website.
White says the ultimate purpose of his project is to prompt Christians to find maturity in their faith.
"Through confession, we are inviting God into our hearts and minds and allowing Him to do His transforming work in our lives," he stated.
Changing the Face of Christianity, Inc. is a Texas-based non-profit focused on tackling issues of hypocrisy, judgmentalism, intolerance and homophobia within the faith. The group, founded last year, also has a bible study to help Christians struggling with these issues.
On the Web: myconfession.org
